on biomimicry + sounds

Ever since I moved to New York, I’ve really paid attention to the sounds that come into play - namely, the construction that goes on under my window and the sirens that blast at 11 pm and the garbage truck at 2 am.

In my hometown of Suwanee, the only sounds that let me know that other people were there were the sounds of conversation and the occasional honk, mostly layered under music playing under the radio. It’s a quiet, contented place to live.

New York is much different, as you can imagine. Sometimes I try to catalogue these background noises. I’ve come to find there are some I enjoy more than others.

For instance, I just heard one particular siren that goes by and sounds quite like a loud cat’s meow. Sometimes they’re more like loud chirps, the bird at your window forcing you to get up. Other times, I like the loud honks that play on like bad dog farts or an elephant’s blow.

I think it’s easiest to relate the city in terms of nature by its sounds. The ecosystem that grows out of an urban landscape permeates by its noise: amplified and exaggerated, there is a sense of home. To all the beings that live in New York, I appreciate you! Even when I wake up to the brr of a drill in the concrete.